December 2013 LSAT Section 1 Question 3

Peter: Recent evidence suggests that moderate alcohol consumption has certain beneficial effects on health. In partic...

kale5294 on September 18, 2018

Phrasing in this question confuses me

Hi! Could someone help explain what exactly they are trying to conclude when they say alcohol consumption is, on balance, beneficial. Specifically the on balance part confuses me. I thought it might have indicated a moderation of alcohol, which lead me to exclude D. Thanks.

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Christy-Earls on June 29, 2019

I had the same issue with this question. I eliminated D for that very reason. Could you provide some insight?

Golnar-Roughani on April 6, 2020

yes same issue here. please explain

noname on November 3, 2021

HELLLUR on balance explanation por favor

Ravi on February 5, 2022

The problem with this argument is that while Peter is saying that moderate alcohol consumption has beneficial effects, the conclusion is about alcohol consumption in general. This includes binge drinking, which isn't moderate, and it's probably bad for you. This is a big equivocation.

D is correct because the premise specifically discussed moderate alcohol consumption, so the conclusion can't make claims about all forms of drinking, including binge drinking. Thus, D is right.